Chapter Thirty-Six
The next day, Emperor Xuanning announced that Prince Ping would take Prince Kang’s place in overseeing the Ministry of Revenue and would begin attending court assemblies.
Apart from the Crown Prince, the imperial princes of this dynasty were not permitted to attend court until they turned twenty.
Among Emperor Xuanning’s sons, Prince Kang was twenty-eight, Prince Wei twenty-six, and Prince An twenty-five. They were the oldest princes ever to be admitted to court so late since the founding of the dynasty.
Prince Duan, on the other hand, had been allowed to attend court as soon as he turned eighteen. He had even been assigned to oversee the Ministry of Personnel—the kind of treatment normally reserved for the Crown Prince. That was why everyone had assumed he would soon be named Crown Prince.
Now that Prince Duan had been confined to the palace, barred from going out, both his court attendance and his duties at the Ministry of Personnel had been suspended. His princess consort had been changed to Li Yijin, and the court officials all understood without needing to say it aloud that Prince Duan was essentially out of the running.
Of course, Prince Duan himself, Concubine Li Shu, and the second branch of the Li family remained full of confidence.
At this critical juncture, Emperor Xuanning arranged for the eighteen-year-old Prince Ping to attend court and oversee the Ministry of Revenue. Naturally, this drew considerable attention, and the eyes of both the court and the capital turned toward Prince Ping.
Still, the court officials no longer assumed that he was certain to succeed. Aside from Prince Duan, any of the princes older than Prince Ping might take the throne. Everything depended on whom the Li family chose to support.
Yet the Li family remained perfectly composed. Chief Minister Li devoted himself wholeheartedly to state affairs, while Empress Dowager Li summoned Li Yixin into the palace to keep her company and refused to see anyone else.
There was indeed no reason for the Li family to be anxious. Setting aside Prince Duan, who was related to them by the closest blood ties, every one of the remaining princes was their great-grandson. It made little difference to them whom they chose. They only needed to see who best suited the Li family’s wishes—and that was not something that could be rushed. Time would reveal a person’s true nature.
After suffering a setback with Prince Duan, the Li family had become much more cautious.
Once Cui Lanyin had decided not to abandon Prince Wei’s side, she felt much more at ease. Her thinking was simple: she would help herself and her family earn more money. It was always wise to have money when traveling far from home; if they ever had to flee, at least they would have funds to rely on.
Cui Lanyin took stock of the capital she had on hand. She had two hundred taels of silver left from before, nearly ten taels’ worth of gold ingots from Empress Dowager Chen’s palace, and another fifty taels of gold recently bestowed by Empress Xu.
All together, it amounted to eight hundred taels of silver. Even after opening two shops, she would still have some money left over for working capital.
She had grown accustomed to having Geng Dayou at her disposal. Before, because she had been afraid people would say she was acting too arrogantly—acting as though she really were the second young lady of Prince Wei’s residence—whenever she needed to send Geng Dayou on an errand, she had to ask Sangzhi to have someone at her family home pass along the instructions. It was both time-consuming and inconvenient.
Yesterday, after hearing Prince Wei explain why he had fallen asleep, Cui Lanyin realized that he could tolerate even her most outrageous behavior. She understood that she had truly been accepted by Prince Wei as family. Her attitude changed at once. From now on, the Prince Wei Residence was, to her, essentially a second home.
One naturally did things in the most convenient way at home. She decided to have Geng Dayou move into the Prince Wei Residence so that he could serve her whenever she needed him.
After breakfast the next day, she sent Sangzhi home to bring Geng Dayou over. She also asked her to bring Cui Su along, since she needed to discuss his martial training at the estate with him.
When Cui Su and Geng Dayou arrived at the Prince Wei Residence, they were initially nervous, taking the utmost care with every word and action, afraid that one wrong move would make Cui Lanyin lose face.
Only after they saw that everyone in the residence—from the chief steward down to the palace attendants—treated Cui Lanyin with great respect did they begin to relax.
“Second Sister, did you need me for something? Can I go find Chiyun and Chiyue later? There were a few things about martial arts that I didn’t understand the last time, and I want to ask them.”
Cui Lanyin felt that asking Cui Su was merely a formality. If he could train alongside guards like Chiyun and Chiyue, he would willingly climb a mountain of swords or plunge into a sea of fire for the chance.
She had already anticipated his answer, but there were still some things she had to explain solemnly.
“Our eldest male cousin is about to leave for Shanxi. Once he goes, we can’t keep taking advantage of the second branch. Either our family pays the fees for your archery and horsemanship instructors, or we find you somewhere else to train. As it happens, your maternal great-uncle has a place specifically for guards like Chiyun and Chiyue to practice their skills. Yesterday, he mentioned that you could go there. But you would have to live there and only return home during your days off. Do you want to go?”
Cui Su shook his head vigorously. His long-cherished wish had finally come true, and he was afraid he had heard incorrectly.
“Second Sister, is it true? You’re not just teasing me, are you?”
“Would your maternal great-uncle tease you?”
Cui Su was so delighted that he rubbed his hands together. “Do you even have to ask? I’d crawl there even if I were sick!”
“Don’t get carried away just yet. Listen to me first.” Cui Lanyin’s expression turned serious. “Cui Su, your maternal great-uncle has a position of great importance. Who knows what he may face in the future? He could even be in danger of losing his life. So think carefully. Once you go there, it will be the same as becoming one of his people. No matter what happens in the future, you must advance and retreat alongside him. You must never betray him. Do you understand what I mean?”
Cui Su’s smile faded, and he answered firmly, “Second Sister, from the moment Prince Wei stood up for you and went against Prince Duan, our entire family—including me—made up our minds to advance and retreat with him. You didn’t need to ask.”
“Remember this well: once you go to the estate, you cannot tell anyone outside about anything that happens there. That includes our own family.”
“I understand what’s important. Even with a knife at my throat, I wouldn’t say a word.”
“Good. Go home and pack. Decide when you’ll leave.”
“Why wait? I’ll pack as soon as I get back and leave today.”
“Your eldest male cousin is about to depart, and your second and third male cousins will soon be taking the prefectural examinations. We’ll have to say goodbye to one and see the other two off to their examinations. It would be better for you to leave after the exams.”
“Eldest Cousin has already decided to wait until after the exams before leaving. I can take a few days off when the time comes. There are still several days before then, and I don’t want to delay my training.”
Cui Su had never been this eager to apply himself while studying at the academy. Thinking of how many years he had already wasted, Cui Lanyin did not stop him.
After asking whether Xuanlin was at the residence, Cui Lanyin took Cui Su to find him. Xuanlin had already received word and readily agreed.
“Chilin and Qinglin are both at the estate right now. I’ll have someone take Young Master Su there at once. The route passes by your family residence, so he can pick up a change of clothes and whatever else he needs.”
Cui Su grinned, completely unable to contain himself. When Chilin called over one of the guards under his command, Cui Su heard that there would be a horse for him to ride and immediately followed the man away without even looking back.
What a hopelessly devoted little brother. She had originally intended to send him there herself, but now she could stop worrying about him.
Cui Lanyin called Geng Dayou to accompany her out.
The carriage belonging to the first branch of the Cui family had originally been available for her use. But now that Cui Sheng had taken up an official post, the family carriage had to pick him up and drop him off every morning and evening. Cui Lanyin therefore did not ask the family to send a carriage. Whenever she went out, she used the carriage belonging to the Prince Wei Residence instead.
Previously, she had thought she would only be staying there for a few days, and since she did not go out often, using it a few times would not matter. Now that the Prince Wei Residence was another home to her, naturally she would use its carriage without restraint.
Geng Dayou, however, did not know this. When Sangzhi told him that Cui Lanyin would be going out later, he drove the carriage over when he came.
Since a carriage was already waiting, Cui Lanyin did not summon one from the Prince Wei Residence. She brought Buyu with her to the rear gate and prepared to board the carriage Geng Dayou had driven over.
“Second Young Lady, is there something wrong with the residence’s carriage? Just tell me what it is, and I’ll have it fixed at once.” The chief steward had not even approached when he began asking the question.
This chief steward really did make a fuss over every little thing. Cui Lanyin stopped and explained, “There’s nothing wrong with the carriages at home. My family’s carriage happened to arrive, so I simply rode in it.”
“That carriage was specially prepared for Second Miss,” the chief steward said, sounding a little aggrieved. “Everything inside was arranged according to what we guessed Second Miss would like. The carriage from the residence is reserved exclusively for Third Master, so Second Miss should still ride in our carriage.”
“Wasn’t that carriage already in the residence?”
“I requested it from the Internal Treasury on the day Second Miss moved to Chunxi Pavilion.”
Looking at the chief steward, Cui Lanyin suddenly felt that Prince Wei’s household—where there were hardly any people—was completely out of step with a chief steward who was determined to make himself useful. “I’ll persuade my cousin-uncle. We can’t keep leaving you with nothing to do.”
The chief steward beamed at her. “It would be wonderful if Second Miss stayed at the prince’s residence for a long, long time.”
How was Cui Lanyin supposed to respond to that? She merely smiled and said nothing.
In the eyes of the servants at Prince Wei’s residence, their Second Miss was actually the second master of the household after Prince Wei himself. Geng Dayou felt even less restrained and stepped forward. “I’ll have Sun Five drive the carriage back at once.”
The chief steward came over to speak with him. “You can live at the residence without worry from now on. If you’re short of anything, just say so. You mustn’t keep going over there to take things.”
The chief steward soon had Prince Wei’s carriage brought over and watched until Cui Lanyin had ridden through the passage by the second gate and disappeared. Then he stood there muttering to himself, “The prince won’t marry, and once Second Miss marries, I’ll have nothing left to do.”
They first went to the Eastwater Pass wharf to pick up Zhang Gui. Then Cui Lanyin had the carriage head toward the examination compound by the Wuyang River.
When Geng Dayou and Zhang Gui heard where she wanted to go, they both tried to stop her. “Second Miss, just tell us what needs doing and we’ll handle it. That place… that place isn’t suitable for you to visit.”
“I’m not going across the river. What’s unsuitable about it?”
“The river isn’t very wide. From the examination compound, you can see everything on the other side clearly.”
“Isn’t the other side only lively at night? There’s nothing to see during the day. I’m going to look for a suitable shop near Fuxiang House. I’m not in the mood to stare across the river.”
Zhang Gui excitedly leaned toward the carriage window. “Second Miss, are we opening a pastry shop too?”
“Yes.”
“Near Fuxiang House? Didn’t Second Miss say before that we couldn’t afford to compete with them?”
“We couldn’t afford to before. Now we can.”
One should run a business according to the power one possessed. Now that she had power, she was going to snatch some of Fuxiang House’s business.
When Princess Kang sent five phoenix hairpins and the other gifts to the Cui family’s main branch, she had probably thought that Cui Lanyin would not dare disobey Prince Kang’s wishes, so Cui Lanyin had not intended to take her anger out on Princess Kang.
But when Geng Shun’s wife brought people to return the gifts to Prince Kang’s residence, one of Princess Kang’s senior maids came out and sneered contemptuously at her. “A poor, fallen household that doesn’t know its place. Does she really think a fox spirit can enter respectable society?”
She had spoken as if the main branch of the Cui family were some filthy object that offended the eyes.
If Princess Kang had not felt the same way, how would that maid have dared speak so arrogantly? Cui Lanyin remembered it.
On the surface, Fuxiang House was a business opened by Princess Kang’s maternal family. But almost every respectable household in Yingcheng knew that this was merely a cover. Fuxiang House had been opened by Princess Kang under her family’s name, and a large portion of its profits went directly to her.
Several of Fuxiang House’s best-selling pastries used recipes Princess Kang had obtained from the palace kitchens. With the prestige of being palace-made pastries, and with the area around the examination compound being one of the few truly prosperous parts of Yingcheng, it was no wonder that the pleasure houses lining the opposite bank of the Wuyang River bought enormous quantities of Fuxiang House’s pastries every day.
So rules were nothing but drifting clouds before the powerful.
A respectable young woman was forbidden not only from going near the Wuyang River, but even from mentioning the place. Yet the pastries from Princess Kang’s shop were sold throughout the pleasure district along the river. And who had ever come out to sneer at her for it?
Prince Wei and Empress Dowager Chen had both given her permission to throw her weight around outside. She intended to turn that permission into something tangible—and she would begin with Princess Kang’s Fuxiang House. She would open a pastry shop nearby and take Fuxiang House’s business for herself.
When they were still two streets away from the examination compound, Geng Dayou and Zhang Gui refused to let the carriage go any farther. Prince Wei’s carriage was far too conspicuous. They found a secluded place to stop, and Cui Lanyin waited inside while Zhang Gui and Geng Dayou went to look at the shops.
Chiyun and Chiyue were rather disappointed. “We were hoping to broaden our horizons and admire the famous sights along the Wuyang River with Second Miss.”
Cui Lanyin actually wanted to see them too. “Once the shop opens here, we’ll be able to come whenever we like. Next time, we’ll use a less conspicuous carriage.”
The two of them nodded eagerly. “Second Miss, don’t forget.”
Half an hour later, Zhang Gui and Geng Dayou returned, and Liu Heipi was following behind them.
As it turned out, Liu Heipi had a shop he wanted to put up for sale. By coincidence, it was only three storefronts away from Fuxiang House.
The only problem was that it consisted of three connected shops, making it far too large for a pastry business.
Liu Heipi was not afraid to explain the situation to Cui Lanyin. “That shop was used to settle a debt. I’ll speak to Lord Bai, and Second Miss can simply take it over. There’s no need to look for another place.”
“Was it used as payment to settle someone else’s troubles?”
Liu Heipi nodded, and Cui Lanyin said, “Then I’ll go back and ask him myself.”
My throat and head hurt, so this is all I can manage for now. [Shy]
